


The Capture of the Great White Tiger

by Arithanas



Category: I pirati della Malesia | The Pirates of Malaysia - Emilio Salgari
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Disabled Character of Color, First Kiss, Inspired by Music, M/M, Pre-Canon, Quran reference, Saint Sebastian in a medal, Underwater Kiss, canonical muslim character, hegemonic masculinity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 09:39:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7097245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arithanas/pseuds/Arithanas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a story here, promise</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Capture of the Great White Tiger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ravensandstars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravensandstars/gifts).



> _J’attendais j’attendais sans le savoir_   
>  _J’attendais j’attendais l’inattendu_   
>  _J’attendais j’attendais sans te prévoir, et tu es venu_

Sandokan often noticed the worst part of searching for a prey was not the uneasiness of the unexpected, but the boredom of the habitual.  

Mompracem’s little tigers were well used to keep their hands busy. A parang to sharpen, a rope to coil or a cannonball to put in its place was enough to restore them to the familiarity of their bloody trade. At the helm and looking into the horizon, Sandokan usually had too much time to spend in wild ideations.  Fantasies that seldom left his twenty-years-old head.

The little tigers spoke among them about marriage and wives. The idle talk of his men bothers him not, not even a bit. Even if they didn’t withhold any information in their rush to prove their worth to their peers. Sandokan’s fancy laid another way, but there was no one to hear him talk about his yearnings. In the long run was a good thing. He was not at fault for having those thoughts passing his mind. To dwell on them was another thing altogether.

Fortunately, sometimes his tigers found a way to keep him distracted. This time, distraction was Burmese and came in the form of a couple of brothers who joined his band a month ago. This was their first raid in his prahus. The older, if he recalled it right, was named Adi and his brother Dwi. The younger one spoke for both since Adi could only manage to utter some deep grunts. Sandokan found himself between pity and discomfiture. Having Adi under his command reminded him that there are people with heavier burdens than his. That was a shameful idea to entertain.

Adi was signaling his brother something. Sandokan waited for Dwi to translate with unheard patience.

“Tiger of Mompracem, Adi said he’s grateful for the chance to going raiding with you.”

“Tell him it’s an honor to have him,” Sandokan was not laying it thick. Adi was a strong man, even more than his brother.

There was a small exchange of gestures, punctuated by angry grunts. Finally, Dwi bowed to the wishes of his older brother.

“Adi wants to be at your side, Tiger, when you board the next ship. He says he won’t get distracted.”

“Not this time,” Sandokan said after a moment of consideration. No petitions from his crew should go without careful evaluation. “He needs to learn. Adi will follow Sea Spider and learn from him. If I’m pleased, he could try next time.”

Dwi gave his captain an annoyed look. Adi was a very obstinate man; an amazing feat for a man without the gift of words.

“Say to him also that I won’t allow any insolence in my prahus.”

The little brother explained with exaggerated gestures. Adi’s face was turning hostile by the moment. In the end, both brothers bowed to their Captain and retired to their chores. Sandokan considered what would be of him and his crew the day Dwi meet his fate. May Allah wishes it would be later than sooner. Sandokan prayed he would never see the day they lose Dwi.

“Tiger of Malaysia,” Sea Spider came to his side, concern was evident in his face. “we have been traversing these waters for days now and there is no sign of the Filipino merchant.”

“We won’t return to Mompracem yet.”

“We are running a bit short in water and food…”

“Hunger and thirst will help us to expiate our sins.”

Sea Spider was not a particularly devout man, but he knew better than to discuss his Captain’s orders.

Boredom didn’t last long. It was not the Filipino merchant but it was a merchant ship. The Portuguese flag was fluttering in the wind, announcing a prize in gold, fabrics, and spices. It will keep his boisterous little tigers in check. Mompracem could always do with their bullion. Sandokan gave the order and the crew complied with savage glee.

The merchant ship was not helpless. They put a good fight but his two bombards were not enough. They faced the combined firepower of three Malayan prahus. A ragtag band of desperate men manned those ships. Rebels with little to lose and much to avenge. Hooks were tossed to the rails and to the shrouds. The Portuguese ship was assaulted by the starboard quarter and beam and by the port bow.

Sandokan had long since learned that there was no restraint in the assaults. They wouldn’t show mercy to his little tigers and the best European was the one who couldn’t take a weapon anymore. The little tigers were quick and merciless. Soon, the deck was slippery with blood and bodies. There was a circle of activity inboard of the port beam. Sandokan approached, wondering if he found a valuable addition to his crew.

The person fighting five of his little tigers was a tall European man. He threw his empty pistol in the air, grabbed the barrel and with a solid blow knocked out a Dayak. The European made a show about to punctuate how little the little tigers had hassled him. unconcerned with the blows that the desperate little tigers were trying to land, he took off his hand-rolled cigarette from his mouth and shook the ashes. Sandokan knew he should not be having as much fun as he was having.

The European noticed Sandokan and their eyes crossed. Sea Spider was taking aim with a British carbine. Sandokan heard him mutter something when he noticed the ambush. The tone made it clear that those words were not a prayer. Sandokan saw the man turn around to face him. He trying to seize him as if he meant to use Sandokan’s body as a shield against the bullets. That was a smart strategy, but Sandokan was reluctant to partake in it. In any case, he achieved his goal. Sea Spider didn’t dare to shoot.

Sandokan was aware that under the cold façade, the European was a desperate man. But he didn’t know the measure of his desperation until the man landed a blow in Sandokan’s ribs. He passed his arms around Sandokan’s waist. Sandokan flew out of the board with the man's arms around his chest. That infuriating man carried Sandokan ’s weight like a girl would carry her rag-doll.  

For once, the Tiger of Mompracem was too impressed to roar.

The splash of water and the cries of outrage followed them both to the liquid silence of the sea. Sandokan received the brunt of the hit before saltwater seeped through the fine silk. There was no pleasant sense of weightless. The other body ’s weight was dragging him down.

The madman -because there was no other way to describe this frantic man- tried to extricate from the many wet folds of fabric. Sandokan smiled at his lunacy. Even if this European managed to swim to his vanquished ship, there was no possible escape. His little tigers were there and they will kill him for the crime of laying hands on their captain.

Time passes in water in a different way. Everything is slower, almost like a dream. Sandokan passed his fingers on that floating hair forcing the man’s eyes upon him. His only aim was to show him he was not afraid of the sea, that he had lost any power over him when he forced him out of the deck. Unwittingly, he invited the most haunting gaze into his life.

That man had nothing to lose. His eyes were gray and blue and wide open, probably stinging by the unforgiving salt. He was not afraid of the sea or the man. The European desperate struggle ceased at once and his body floated. Sandokan noticed a strong thigh between his own legs. The caress was pleasant, but distraction he couldn’t afford. This man meant to fight tooth and nail for his life, even if it was a lost cause.

There was a small disruption in the flow of seawater. Sandokan reckoned his Tigers were coming to the rescue. He was too busy with that hand roaming his butt in search of the kris. He liked this fierce man; he was not like the other sailors who fight to the end with fright and hatred in their hearts. If this man was to die, his death will be on his own provisions…

Sandokan’s fit of admiration ended when a kiss touched his lips. A salty taste of the sea, the hand on Sandokan’s butt squeezed the firm flesh of his compact haunches. Sandokan reciprocated, that man had earned his last share of pleasure in this life. There was an exquisite tremor between Sandokan’s thighs, like two coils of rope twisting, sending their combined force to his crotch. His cock— of which he avoided thinking about at all costs— was a taut knot. Twisting into his belly, by the delightful pressure of lust.

Sandokan ached for sweet release but it didn't come. A couple of little tigers’ hands tore the European from his body and another one pulled him to surface. The rescuers were well-intended. Sandokan couldn’t blame them for they do n’t know of this thirst sent to him from the deepest pits of the fire.  

Fresh air was sweet and the sun in his naked head was sobering. His tigers tore him from a sinful fantasy and returned him to the world where he had a mission to finish. Sandokan pulled himself to the deck of the captured ship. The thick rope burning his hand reminded him of his responsibility to his crew.

Sandokan gazed the madman again. Dwi, the Burmese, was carrying him over the shoulder and restraining him with one hand. The only thing that kept this man of unsound mind subdued was the Adi. His mute tiger had his parang ready to cut his prisoner's head at the briefest sign of opposition.

“It was a dream,” Sandokan muttered to himself, passing his leg over the port beam, “and I’m awake now.”

“Are you alright, Captain?” Sea Spider asked, crouching by his side.

“Unharmed,” Sandokan replied, brushing aside a wet lock of his dark hair.

There was a small commotion around the prisoner. Sandokan noticed Adi was alternating between menacing the man and signaling his brother. There was an occasional grunt as if Adi wanted to highlight some element of the complicated language they both shared. With a sign, Sandokan sent Sea Spider to inquire about the row.

“Tiger, Adi said you were heinously attacked by the man.” Sea Spider explained upon his return, refusing to meet Sandokan’s eye, “that the European must die.”

Sandokan let out a booming laugh. Almost all the crew turned around to look at him, taken aback. Such explosions of sentiment were few and far between. The only exception was Adi who never waived his eyes from the European. Sandokan took Sea Spider by the collar and kissed him on the lips. He knew very well that he was playing with fire and inciting mutiny but he had to test the waters sometime. This was a good time as any.

“Are you hurt, Sea Spider?”

Sandokan noticed his bare head and wet clothes, and nothing else. The wicked soul inside him missed the pleasant knot in his belly. His mind was confused, but his body was not. It longed for the touch of the European, not of his lieutenant. Pensive, he wondered why his body didn’t react to Sea Spider ’s lips, if the vice was still there.

“No,” his tiger cub answered but his eyes were surveying the men with a suspicious gaze.

“That was all this madman did and nothing else. The Messenger of Allah, praise be upon him,” Sandokan waited until all the devout little tigers praised the Prophet. He walked towards the prisoner, “said that the pen has been raised from three: the one who is sleeping, until he awakens; the insane person until he returns to his senses; and the child, until he reaches puberty.”

An approving mumble ran through the ranks and Sandokan crouched in front of the prisoner. His fingers touched the small disc of silver hanging from a small chain. The round surface showed the figure of a naked man pierced with arrows and a tree. The external band had some words in a strange language. It was a trimming for ladies, and blasphemous to cap it all. Without a second thought, he yanked it from the neck of the prisoner and tossed it over his shoulder. He was certain that one of his little tigers would gladly add it to the lot. Then, he turned his attention to the chin covered with soft stubble and forced the prisoner to fix in him his unusual blue-gray eyes.

“Let us see if this one returns to his senses,” Sandokan proposed.   

Sandokan noticed they were even bluer than they looked under the sea. Those eyes were watching him with an open challenge. As if he had the faintest chance to survive a fair fight against The Tiger of Malaysia. They locked eyes on the deck, dripping salt water and feeling the burning sun of Borneo on their backs. The defiance in those eyes had not dithered for a moment. That bravado fascinated Sandokan even more than the kiss.

All that time, the little tigers banged the ship’s deck with their weapons. They showed their agreement in the loudliest way.

 

“You are to join us,” Sandokan proposed in English. The anticipated pleasure of taming this exotic white tiger made him smile. “You are one of my tigers now, agreed?”

The challenge in those eyes dimmed a bit, but it didn’t disappear. If anything, it turned into an interesting shade of wariness. Sandokan was certain his prisoner understood the extraordinary proposal.

“Agreed?” Sandokan insisted, mollifying his voice to bring him to heel.

The prisoner didn’t speak but nodded. A dry, short nod as if he refused to take his eyes away of his captor.

“Take him to my prahu,” Sandokan ordered as he stood up. “Maybe he was a hostage in this ship and that made him unhinged: give him water and food if he wants them.”

The charitable thought extracted a grunt from the crew. They all had known such deprivations in the past. A couple of men carried the prisoner to one of the prahus. The rest began with the routine of collecting the goods to divide the weight between ships. The crew was a hive of disciplined activity, and Sandokan feigned an interest in the operation.  His mind returned again to that kiss. The kiss as a nightmarish refrain repeating in his mind over and over again. Dwi passed his side, carrying a crate with fresh food; Sandokan took the chance to distract his mind.

“Dwi!”

“Yes, Tiger of the Malaysia?” The Burmese didn’t stop his work. Sandokan felt a course in his kissed lips because the man failed to distract him.

“Tell your brother I’m pleased with him.”

Sandokan didn't wait for an answer. His hand found one of the loose ratlines and swung to his prahu. He was only sovereign in his ship, but that didn't reduce his discomfort. The weight of a gray-blue gaze followed everywhere in his prahu. The continual scrutiny was unsettling.

By the time the sails unfurled, Sandokan acknowledged, in his secret heart, that he had invited his own damnation into his life.

If only his skin were bronze instead of white…  


End file.
